Students at Naperville North High School today were to be issued new passwords to access the school's computers -- part of safeguards undertaken after discovery of a hacker's threatening message last week. Principal John Lorenz said officials would also place new security systems on computer drives to better control access to the in-house network.

The measures follow the additional revelation that someone earlier this month introduced to the system a video game in which a student shoots a teacher and travels through a school destroying other characters with violence that officials and students described as "Columbine-ish."

* From this morning's paper

Evanston students face athlete's death

Members of the boys track team at Evanston Township High School were to be briefed today on the death Saturday of 17-year-old junior Kevin Richards, just moments after achieving a personal best score in a 1-mile indoor race. After an autopsy Sunday, the Cook County medical examiner's office said determining the cause of death would require further study. Meanwhile, Evanston's cross-country coach, Don Michelin, said practice this week would be optional and the team would not attend a scheduled meet this Saturday at Lincoln-Way.

* From this morning's paper

Police seek four suspects in fatal robbery

Chicago police were asking for the public's help in locating four suspects in an armed robbery that left one person dead at an electronics store on the Near Southwest Side Sunday night.

Sgt. Brian Holy identified the victim as Jamison Frederick, 25, of the 1600 block of North Mayfield Avenue. Holy said the suspects were believed to have taken some cash and Frederick's vehicle, a white Ford Expedition, license number 645 532 PV.

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Tests underway to determine what killed Brookfield dolphin

An animal autopsy has failed to identify the cause of the death of a 12-day-old Atlantic bottlenose dolphin at Brookfield Zoo. Officials said the baby dolphin, born to 17-year-old Tapeko, had been in good health, engaging in normal behavior until it got sick late Saturday and died in its tank. The zoo has sent tissue and blood samples to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the hope that its researchers can determine the cause.

* From this morning's paper

Cone-heads beware

The nation's ice cream shop owners are bracing for a shortage of ice cream cones. At the root of the problem: the December bankruptcy of Green Bay-based Ace Baking Co, whose Chicago, Atlanta and Dallas plants made almost half of all cones produced for the commercial market, including those used by Baskin-Robbins, Dairy Queen and McDonald's outlets nationwide.

* From this morning's paper

'Peanuts' reprints to continue after Schulz

"Peanuts" creator Charles Schulz had a contract specifying that the strip would end with his death -- a provision that proved almost prophetic when he died over the weekend, even as the final new installment of "Peanuts" was reaching newsstands around the country.

But "Peanuts" will survive: Gerould W. Kern, the Tribune's deputy managing editor/features, said the paper will continue to publish reprints of the strip "to entertain new generations of readers."

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Cake on the icing

The City of Chicago's Skate on State ice rink celebrates Valentine's Day with a wedding at noon. the winners of a Southwest Airlines contest, Jackie Olson and Raymond Montes, will tie the knot in a ceremony to be conducted entirely on the ice at State and Randolph Streets.

... But bring your own Band-Aids

The INC. Column reports that the Skate on State staff seemed unprepared recently to deal with injuries on the ice. A good Samaritan who came to the aid of someone who'd cut his face in a fall on the ice reports that the rink "guards" took five minutes to produce a first-aid kit. Asked whether anyone had called an ambulance, one rink staffer answered "no," adding "Are you going to pay for it?"

Online Tribune wins top honors

The Chicago Tribune Internet Edition and two of its affiliates have taken top honors in the 2000 Editor & Publisher Magazine EPpy Awards -- winning every award for which they were nominated.

The award for best overall U.S. newspaper online service went to chicagotribune.com; Chicago Tribune Homes was named best classified section in a newspaper online service; and Metromix was honored for the best promotion of a newspaper online service.

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In sports

In college basketball Sunday, DePaul lost to Cincinnati, 87-64. The Blackhawks host Anaheim, 7:30 p.m. Full schedule in Sports.